Developers of the Pearl-Qatar real estate project will release its second batch of properties for sale in February, ahead of schedule, officials said.

"The first seven towers and 43 villas released for sale along the island's main marina were sold out in a very short time," said Khalil Al Sholy, managing director of United Development Co (UDC). UDC is the developer of the $2.5 billion project.

"As early as February, we will start marketing the second phase of the project," he said.

UDC will market an additional 50 plots of villas and the towers around the Porto Arabia. The sales of the first phase far exceeded expectations and attracted investors from the GCC as well as further abroad, said Hussain Al Fardan, chairman of UDC.

About 60 per cent of the investors were Qatari nationals, as a result of the company's focus on the local market in the first marketing phase, said Al Sholy.

"We wanted to give an opportunity to Qataris to be the first to own the properties. Now we are going to focus on the regional and international markets," he said.

The Pearl-Qatar, the country's largest private real estate project, provides foreign investors with their first-ever opportunity to enter the country's real estate market by owning freehold properties. In addition, under Emiri decree No 17 (June 2004), property owners are entitled to a residence permit.